1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for resisting adhesion and, more particularly, to such a device which is particularly well suited to resisting entanglement by fibrous material in mechanical devices.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There is a multitude of situations in which mechanical devices, and particularly a variety of types of machinery, are subjected during normal operation to being compromised by materials with which they come into contact. Frequently, this includes materials which the machinery is specifically designed to handle. In these instances, the machines are subject to being compromised, in one way or another, by residual materials which would otherwise constitute waste, but which adhere to the operating equipment in such a manner as to interfere with normal operation. Typically, this condition requires that such residual material periodically be removed from operating equipment to avoid the adverse consequences thereof. Such maintenance results in substantial labor, down time and a corresponding cost which, over time, may become prohibitively expensive.
For example, mechanized harvesters typically must handle fibrous materials in performing their harvesting operations. However, the residual material from the crop being harvested tends to collect in the operating machinery and to become entangled in the moving parts thereof. Over time, the entangled fibers interfere with the operation of the machinery and must be removed. In the case of cotton harvesters, barbed spindles are employed in multiples to remove the cotton fiber from the cotton plants. The cotton fibers are removed from the spindles by doffer plates arranged in stands, or stacks, of such doffer plates. Within the stack, adjacent doffer plates are separated by spacers which may be constructed as an integral part of each doffer plate, or be separate therefrom. The spacers, with the doffer plates, are rotated about a longitudinal axis with a drive shaft. Conventionally, such spacers are of metal construction. Over time, cotton fiber begins to adhere to the exterior surfaces of the spacers. As operation continues, this entanglement of cotton fiber, or "wrap" as it has come to be known, more rapidly develops.
Ultimately, operation of the harvester should be terminated for removal of the wrap. Various methods are conventionally used to remove the wrap including using various hand tools to pull or cut the fibers for removal of the wrap. Typically this maintenance operation may be required after ten (10) to twelve (12) hours of operation and may, itself, take a lengthy period of time to complete, depending upon the extent of the build up. As a consequence, the harvester is out of operation for a significant period of time. This is expensive, both in terms of labor, as well as because of the down time necessarily involved.
There has not heretofore been a means for avoiding this condition and, as a consequence, the condition has been considered a necessary, but tedious and expensive, part of the maintenance of such machinery.
Therefore, it has long been known that it would be desirable to have a device for resisting adhesion which is particularly well suited to avoiding or, at very least, minimizing the entanglement of fibrous materials about the moving parts of machinery, such as mechanical devices adapted to handle such fibrous material; which has particular application in use on harvesting equipment such as that employed in the harvesting of cotton; which operates simply and inexpensively to resist adhesion by fibrous material; which, depending upon the particular embodiment involved, employs a plurality of operative means to achieve the desired result; which does not interfere with the normal operation of such machinery; and which is otherwise entirely well suited to achieving its operational results.